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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23928085">a less than pleasant surprise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/El_Red/pseuds/El_Red'>El_Red</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Firebringer - Team StarKid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, as per, im not gonna tag it coz its a surprise, it gets super cute at the end, zazz is an idiot, zazzy is hiding something</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:41:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,704</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23928085</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/El_Red/pseuds/El_Red</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>-At this point, 3 days since The Incident and running on pure adrenaline and shock that she’s not been discovered...She has narrowed the possibilities of retribution down to; Jemilla leaving her to go and govern the neanderthal tribe once more, and Jemilla killing her on the spot with an act of pure fury-</p>
<p>Zazzalil's been hiding something from the rest of the tribe, it's too late to tell Jemilla now. she'll have to wait until she is found out and improvise a solution then (she could tell Jemilla, she's just dumb so she won't)</p>
<p>hope you enjoy :)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jemilla/Zazzalil (Firebringer)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a less than pleasant surprise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s not like Zazzalil </span>
  <em>
    <span>wants </span>
  </em>
  <span>to lie to Jemilla, it’s just that she knows that her wife will be royally pissed off and wants to avoid that. She also knows that, with each passing second she </span>
  <em>
    <span>doesn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>tell Jemilla, the worse and worse the fallout is going to be. At this point, 3 days since The Incident and running on pure adrenaline and shock that she’s not been discovered, Zazzalil is genuinely contemplating leaving the tribe and becoming a river spirit. She has narrowed the possibilities of retribution down to; Jemilla leaving her to go and govern the neanderthal tribe once more, and Jemilla killing her on the spot with an act of pure fury. Zazz thinks that it shows a significant amount of Jemilla's good influence that she hopes it will be the latter, Duck knows these idiots wouldn’t survive alone, </span>
  <em>
    <span>especially</span>
  </em>
  <span> with her as sole leader of the tribe. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She looks at her mess glumly, it’s raining but the Thing doesn’t look like it will be disappearing anytime soon. Maybe she should come clean before Jemilla finds out by accident? Or maybe she should wait and deal with the fallout when it comes to it, that sounds like a better option. A good influence can only go so far.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She makes it 12 days, 12 whole days of disappearing during the daily hunt, of making random excuses to run into the forest and cross the river to a small cave and deal with...it, before Jemilla finds out. It isn’t even that she discovered her secret through asking Zazz where she ran off to, or why she’d been leaving at all. Jemilla finds out Zazzalil’s secret while gathering fruit with Keeri and Tiblyn, and they bring it back to the village. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zazzalil is helping Smelly-balls, Schwoopsie, and Grunt make woven baskets when Jemilla and co. get back. Zazzalil is distracted, she's thinking about how she’ll get away from the tribe this evening and so she doesn’t notice the bundle of blankets in Jemilla's arms, or that the others had formed a crowd around her. She doesn’t even look up until Emberly taps her on the shoulder on her way to join the crowd, Zazzalil can’t see Jemilla now, but she knows what must have happened. Only, the fact that her wife didn’t storm in and start yelling at her specifically means that they don’t know what’s going on. She follows Emberly to where the rest of the tribe are standing in a messy circle around Jemilla, and stands just behind Grunt. She is there, but she has space to make a getaway and every second she feels more like running. but then Jemilla starts to speak and she doesn’t have a chance. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jemilla looks around at the tribe, </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good, you’re all here.” she looks at the bundle again and clears her throat. “While Keeri, Tiblyn, and I were gathering fruit today we found a small cave near the river. Inside this cave were the blankets and water skin that went missing from our store last week” the assembled tribe make noises of surprise at this, and smelly balls looks like he is about to speak, but Jemilla stops him with a glare. She seems, to Zazzalil, far too calm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“not only that. But in the cave with them was this” she holds the bundle in her arms up for the tribe to see. A human baby wrapped in blankets is looking right back at them with wide, curious eyes. There is silence, then the tribe explodes with questions. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jemilla rests the baby on her hip and waves for silence, her calm seems to be slipping as no one offers an explanation. Zazzalil’s tongue feels like it’s swollen in her mouth and she doesn’t think she could move her feet if she tried. She looks between her wife and the clumsily balanced child on her hip, Jemilla’s a smart woman, it won't take her long to figure out that Zazzalil is the only person who’s been away from the tribe enough in the last two weeks to look after a kid. She doesn’t know what to do, she has become rather attached to this child over that last week and she had been planning to bring it back to the tribe sometime soon, and fight to keep it. Now she is frozen to the spot as Jemilla calls for silence. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She is about to run, it’s always been her knee-jerk reaction to fights she can’t win, she is about to run to her hut and get her spear and disappear into the forest leaving her wife and the child behind. But the kid begins to cry, it’s like someone flipped a switch in Zazzalil’s brain, she rushes forward on instinct and pulls the creature from Jemilla’s outstretched arms. Holding the baby close to her and soothing it with little noises of comfort, the child is pacified with a familiar face, and clings onto Zazzalil, stopping crying and grabbing hold of a fistful of her hair. It smiles up at her, tears forgotten, and laughs in the way that small children do. Then the unthinkable happens, and Zazzalil knows she’s done for.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mama!” the child giggles again, continuing to babble, but there was no mistaking the word. The tribe is silent, Zazzalil chances a look up at Jemilla and immediately regrets it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her wife’s expression is a strange mix of confusion and fury, her mouth hangs open and she is staring at Zazzalil and the baby in shock. Zazzalil holds the child tighter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, Jemilla, I can explain…'' Jemilla snaps out of her daze at her name and cuts Zazzalil off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“why don’t we go inside and discuss this, Zazzalil.” it isn’t a question and Jemilla is back to deathly calm, Zazzalil’s stomach tightens and she nods, walking in front of her wife to their hut. The tribe parts to let her pass, still silent, they don’t seem to know exactly what’s going on, but Jemilla looks more angry than she’s ever been so they just watch them go.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once inside Zazzalil stands in the centre of the hut, Jemilla closes the door and takes a deep breath before she turns to face her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Explain.” she says finally, eyes boring into Zazzalil’s. It takes her a second to find her voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“ right, so, um. It’s not mine, I didn't, you know” she makes a face at the kid and it laughs again. Jemilla looks unimpressed. “I found it by the river, in the rain, it was clinging onto a dead body, half starved. I had some food so I took it into that little cave and fed it. Then it fell asleep on me. I didn’t know what to do with it, it was so weak, so I left it there wrapped in my cloak and got rid of the body and stuff. And then i went back the next day to see if it had died, and it hadn’t, so i washed it and gave it more food. I couldn’t just abandon it again, so I went back the next day and then I took it some of the blankets we don’t use, and then the water skin. But just so that it wouldn’t die while i wasn’t there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>   I was going to tell you, honest I was. I just hadn't yet.” she looks up at Jemilla, her wife still seems unimpressed. While she was talking the baby had fallen asleep, her nervous bouncing settling it down. Jemilla takes a step closer to them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You found a </span>
  <em>
    <span>baby</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she gestures to it “and then you put it in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>cave </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>left It there </span>
  </em>
  <span>instead of bringing it here and telling me about it?” she looks like she is on the verge of an outburst, Zazzalil puts the baby down on their bed. It does sound like a stupid idea when it’s put like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry J-mills, I should've told you when I found it. But this tribe is weird with babies and it was so weak, I didn't want someone eating it or something.” Jemilla is seemingly slightly placated by zazzalil’s explanation and sheepishness, she looks at the child on the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“you didn’t even tell </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” she sounds hurt and Zazzalil feels awful. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m really sorry J, i should’ve told you, i’m sorry” she moves forward slightly, placing her hands on Jemilla’s arms and gives her the best puppy dog eyes she can. Jemilla huffs, </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t stay mad at you Zazz. you’d think after years i would’ve figured it out” she pulls Zazzalil into a hug and the smaller woman lets out a sigh of relief. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it a boy or a girl?” Jemilla asks,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A girl” replies Zazzalil, smiling into Jemilla’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I hold her?” Zazzalil grins up at her wife and pulls her down onto the bed beside the baby, lifts her up and places her into Jemilla's arms. She almost melts at the look on Jemilla’s face, Jemilla leans into her, still holding the baby and turns her face to look at Zazzalil.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She called you ‘mama’” she says. Zazzalil makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a squeak and nods excitedly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s the first time it’s done that”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She” corrects Jemilla, and Zazzalil smiles at her</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She.” she says.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does she have a name, </span>
  <em>
    <span>mama</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” she smirks at Zazzalil and she blushes </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I've been calling her Millie.” she looks down at her, avoiding Jemilla's gaze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” it’s barely a whisper, Zazzalil nods. Then Jemilla is facing her, and her hand pulls Zazzalil’s chin up so she has to look her in the eye. Jemilla looks like she’s about to cry, that wasn’t what Zazzalil had anticipated at all, she had thought Jemilla would just laugh at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry!” she says desperately, her hands fluttering around Jemilla’s face and shoulder without quite touching her “I didn’t mean to upset you, I can call her something else, it doesn’t matter I promise I…” Jemilla cuts her off with a kiss, long and hard and slightly wet from the tears she couldn’t stop. Zazzalil’s hands still, one tangling in Jemilla’s hair and the other resting over her wifes, over the baby  </span>
</p>
<p><span>“It’s </span><em><span>perfect.</span></em><span>”</span> <span>and it is.</span></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hope you liked it! if you have any feelings about it at all please leave kudos and a comment</p>
<p>thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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